A heartless 'carer' who defrauded a 95-year-old woman out of £35,000 has been jailed.

Jaishri Patel, 47, pleaded guilty to theft and three counts of fraud and has been jailed for two years at Bolton Crown Court.

Patel, of Lever Edge Lane, Bolton, had acted as an informal carer to the elderly pensioner, helping her out with her shopping and finances.

However over a period of time she stole a significant amount of money from the woman, by fraudulently using her debit cards, stealing the victim’s cheque book and writing cheques out to herself, and setting up a store card in her name.

Detective Constable Bernadette Miller, of the Public Protection Investigation Unit, said: “Patel took advantage of the elderly and vulnerable woman that she acted as an informal carer for.

“Patel abused the victim’s trust and used her position to steal £35,000 from her for her own selfish needs. I hope today’s sentence brings the victim some peace and she can move on with her life.

“This case shows that no matter how much you lie, justice will catch up with you eventually.”